Companies Can Create Digital Personality with Speech Technology

NEW YORK — We live in an age when every organization not only needs a brand, a personality, and a consistent set of experiences, but also a digital personality, Jeffrey Rayport, founder and chairman of Marketspace, said in SpeechTEK 2009's keynote address August 25. 

“Most of the interactions we have with new customers out there are actually interactions in which the moments of truth are, nine times out of 10, delivered by technology or technology-enabling people,” he said, stressing that speech technology can play a significant part in creating a digital personality.

To develop a digital personality, Rayport stressed the importance of companies understanding who customers are, the impact they have on brands, and the implications this has for speech technologies.

“Speech is ready for prime time,” Rayport said, noting that companies cannot rely as heavily on marketing as they once did. He described speech and call center technology as examples of the many touch points companies can use to manage customer relationships.

“It’s not marketing that’s everything. It’s your technology that’s everything,” Rayport said. “Speech is where the emotional connections get made.”

The challenge of our time, Rayport asserted, is putting together all of these touch points to create a seamless customer experience. 

“Why aren’t we using voice to target the brand and the experience?” Rayport asked. “Every brand must have a digital personality, and voice will lead the way.”